These dancing aspens of southwestern Colorado are one of the most unique natural subjects I've had the pleasure of photographing. Their curved trunks indicate a ground shifting that occurred in the early stages of growth that bent the trucks of the trees, then they continued their natural vertical growth toward the sun. Whatever the reason, their whimsical shapes, combined with the aspen gold of the Colorado fall season make them irresistable to photograph and a truly unique subject.

Because of their rising popularity by photographers and travelers, the public broadcast of their location is still fairly well protected by most who have been there. Even if you can get yourself to the general area, actually finding them still presents a bit of a challenge, and therein lies the thrill of the search, the excitement of finding them, and the pleasure of spending time with them to photograph. Even though I had seen many photographs of them, I felt like I knew exactly what to expect. But when I finally came upon them, seeing them gave me a jolt of excitement to see such a unique natural feature like these.

These dancing aspens of southwestern Colorado are one of the most unique natural subjects I've had the pleasure of photographing. Their curved trunks indicate a ground shifting that occurred in the early stages of growth that bent the trucks of the trees, perhaps due to soil creeping or a localized snow slide. Then they continued their natural vertical growth toward the sun. Whatever the reason, their whimsical shapes, combined with the aspen gold of the Colorado fall season make them irresistable to photograph and a truly unique subject.

Because of their rising popularity by photographers and travelers, the public broadcast of their location is still fairly well protected by most who have been there. Even if you can get yourself to the general area, actually finding them still presents a bit of a challenge, and therein lies the thrill of the search, the excitement of finding them, and the pleasure of spending time with them to photograph. Even though I had seen many photographs of them, I felt like I knew exactly what to expect. But when I finally came upon them, seeing them gave me a jolt of excitement to see such a unique natural feature like these.

On this day, the sun was constantly moving in and out of the clouds, dramatically shifting the scene from bright & contrasty to soft & diffused within a matter of minutes. I was fortunate to be alone and could take my time exploring different compositions, waiting for those few moments for the sun to be obscured by clouds to give a nice diffused light. I explored a variety of compositions, using a 70-200 lens to compress the scene, a wide angle 16-35mm to get up close and over-emphasize the dramatic shapes, and finally the 24-70mm for a more balanced composition.

This was my first visit to the aspens, and it certainly won’t be the last. I already have envisioned a winter black & white series, and a summer trip there to photograph under a canopy of green aspen leaves.